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Feb. 25, 2003 Dobbs Ferry, N.Y. - Coming off yet another outstanding campaign, Concordia College has been rated as the top baseball team in the New York Collegiate Athletic Conference in a vote of league coaches. The Clippers received six of ten first place votes, with three going to last year's runners-up, Dowling College. The final top tally went to perennial regional powerhouse and NYCAC newcomer University of New Haven which placed third in the balloting with Adelphi University being selected as the team expected to qualify for the fourth and final NYCAC playoff berth. The NYCAC will also welcome LIU-C.W. Post, which begins its first year of league play after dropping from the Division I ranks. Concordia dominated the regular season in 2002 posting a 22-1 record to clinch the top seed for the conference tourney. Unlike the previous year, in which the Clippers won the regular season crown only to be upset in the playoffs, the Bronxville contingent got the job done with a dramatic split of the final day's games with Dowling. On the strength of their performances, both Concordia (42-8-1 overall) and Dowling (31-16) earned bids to the NCAA Tournament, with Concordia capturing a narrow 6-5 victory over the Golden Lions in the regional opener. Dowling lost both of their tourney contests, while the Clippers won their first two before having a pair swept by UMass-Lowell, falling just one win short of a trip to the national Elite Eight.
2003 NYCAC BASEBALL PRESEASON COACHES POLL (First place votes in parentheses*) |
